Obama Welcomes Auto Rescue as ‘A Necessary Step’

Henry J. Pulizzi reports on the White House. President-elect Barack Obama welcomed the Bush administration’s $17 billion lifeline for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, saying the plan was needed to keep the U.S. auto sector from cratering. “Today’s actions are a necessary step to help avoid a collapse in our auto industry that would have devastating consequences for our economy and our workers,” Obama said in a statement Friday. Like President George W. Bush , Obama said the companies will have to make tough decisions to recover and thrive. “With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together - including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers - to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability,” the president-elect said. “The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices and begin the long-term restructuring ... (link)